


Let Me Help You

by geiszlercore



Series: Prompts [2]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Aziraphale helps, Crowley can't read, It's Soft, Kissing, M/M, Reading
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-18 14:41:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19336600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geiszlercore/pseuds/geiszlercore
Summary: Crowley doesn't really dislike books, he just struggles to concentrate when he's reading them. Aziraphale offers to help.They're both very much in love.





	Let Me Help You

**Author's Note:**

> Anonymous asked on Tumblr: "Az finding out Crowley doesn't know how to fucking read."
> 
> I know this prompt was probably supposed to be jokey but I put a very soft twist on it because I'm soft and I also relate to what Crowley goes through in this fic. I hope it suffices. <3
> 
> If you want to send me a prompt my askbox is open: https://ziratonin.tumblr.com/ask

“My dear, would you please come and sit with me? Just for a while?” Aziraphale had settled down onto their now shared sofa, a cup of English Breakfast in one hand, and a copy of  _“The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”_ in the other.

Crowley had been pacing about the flat with one headphone in, listening to music. (He had made the mistake of leaving his phone in the Bentley too long, and so his entire Spotify library had been changed to Queen songs. He didn’t really mind at this point, so he hadn’t bothered to change it back.)   
He was full of energy with nothing to do, and was finding it increasingly difficult to relax. He’d cleaned up and helped Aziraphale organise some shelves downstairs, but he still felt like he had something left to do. He fell back onto to sofa with a huff when his partner beckoned him, and leaned his head to look into those bright eyes he loved so dearly. 

“I’m bored, angel.” He muttered, patting his legs to try and expel his energy so he could remain seated. 

“I can tell.” The angel smiled softly as he set down his tea and book, and leant over to brush the demon’s hair behind his ear as he removed his headphones. Freddie Mercury’s voice faintly played from the earbuds before Crowley paused it. 

“I was listening to that.” He protested, but he didn’t care that much, it was amazing how quickly Aziraphale could steal his focus and ground him, even if only a little bit. He sighed and shuffled closer when he felt the angel’s fingers brush lightly through his hair. He placed his head lightly on his shoulder, it was warm, and even warmer when Aziraphale placed his cheek on top of Crowley’s  head.   
Crowley closed his eyes, but he still felt agitated. He started to poke at Aziraphale’s thigh absent-mindedly, until he heard the angel cough and he was snapped back into reality.

“Darling, what are you doing?” He spoke ever so softly in times like this, of course, he knew. 

“Still bored.” Crowley replied with a sigh, sitting back up. “I don’t know what to do. It’s too late to do anything but I want to do  _everything.”_

 _“_ Mm. I know.” Aziraphale stopped to think for a moment, then continued. “You could always get yourself a book from downstairs and read with me?”

Crowley scrunched up his nose at the idea, and simply shook his head, not making eye contact. 

“Dear, why not? Do you really hate books so much? They really are beautiful things, I promise.” 

“I don’t hate them. I think they’re alright, really.” Plus, he thought, he already had one beautiful thing in life, he didn’t have much space for any more.

“Then why don’t we ever read together?” Aziraphale looked quite sad, and Crowley hated denying him anything.

There was a long silence.

“Darling, have I… Did I say something?” The angel was clearly growing worried, and Crowley would never dare let his love think he’d hurt him for a second.

Crowley sighed again, looking down at his shoes, “No.. No, never. It’s just. I just  _can’t_  do it.” 

 Aziraphale looked confused. “You mean… You mean you can’t read? Oh Crowley don’t be silly! I see you read things all the time! How else would you be able to drive?”

“That’s not the  _same._ ” He started, “Books are… different. I suppose it’s not that i can’t, they’re just… They’re harder. They take so long and I just  _cant_  concentrate for that long on any old book. I end up reading the same page a million times over til I get so annoyed with it I just rip it to shreds and-”

Aziraphale gasped as though he was in agony. “You  _rip them up?”_  He whispered frantically.

Crowley winced. “Sorry. If it makes you feel better the last time I ripped one up was 1743. I’ve not really properly read anything since then. I guess you could count Agnes’ book, but you still did most of the reading there.”

Aziraphale contemplated Crowley’s confession for a minute or so. Taking a few sips from his tea, he eventually asked, “What if I helped you?”

Crowley frowned, contemplating the idea, “I don’t know how you could, really. It’s my head that’s the problem. It goes too fast for me.” he smirked at his choice of words, “Sorry, that one just slipped out.”

The blonde chuckled lightly, unphased, “Quite alright darling, I think we’re past that now.” He said, entwining his fingers with Crowley’s and pulling him up. “Come on, dear.”

“Where are we going?”

“Just come with me.” He led him downstairs into the shop. The light flicked on with a quick snap of the angel’s fingers, and they moved towards the fiction section, to “S”, and found a near identical copy of the book Aziraphale had upstairs. 

“Jekyll and Hyde?”

“Do you want something else? You can choose anything that takes your fancy.”

He looked over the cover and skimmed the blurb before handing it back, “No… That looks good… What are you planning, angel?” A little smirk played across his lips. Aziraphale planted a small kiss there which only made the smile widen.

“Let’s go and sit first.”

They went back upstairs and sat back down where they were originally. Aziraphale handed one copy of the book to Crowley, and kept one for himself.

“Right, my dear, open to the first page.”

“Yes, I do know how to start it angel, I’m not completely stupid.”

“You aren’t stupid at all, go on.” The small compliment made Crowley’s heart feel like it was fit to burst. Human bodies really were annoying things when you were in love.

“What are you going to do?” Crowley was expecting some sort of miracle-reading-aid. He’d tried that before but visual aids just distracted him even more. Then his angel smiled at him ever so softly. 

“I thought maybe… Well I assumed your issue was there was too much outside stimulus for you to concentrate on just reading with your eyes, so- And that’s why it didn’t go in. So I thought maybe if I…” There was a light shade of pink dusting his cheeks and nose. “Maybe if I read it aloud to you while you read it to yourself it might be easier for you to take in?”

Crowley turned to look at the man next to him, looking bemused. “Well. I’d never really thought of that. Mind you, I’ve never really had anyone who would read to me before…” He smiled again, so thankful for the wonderful man before him. “We can try.”

“Lovely! Alright…”

“But… Angel?”

“Yes, darling?”

“If it doesn’t work please don’t feel… bad.” Crowley was looking him dead in the eyes now. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to do this properly for centuries and haven’t really found a long term solution… so. Y’know. it’s not your fault.” 

Aziraphale stroked his hand through Crowley’s hair, which ended in effortless curls just above his shoulders. “If it doesn’t work, we can do something else.”

“Okay.” Crowley felt reassured, he had more faith in Aziraphale than he’d ever had in anything else. He trusted him. He settled in next to the angel and focused on the page. “Ready when you are.”

“Alright…” He cleared his throat, and started to read. “ _Mr. Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary and yet somehow lovable….”_

They ran into some issues along the way, for example at times Crowley would read on faster than the speed that Aziraphale was speaking and get lost, so they had to stop and start again. But Aziraphale was a being of patience, and they persevered. 

They read through three chapters together that evening, and Crowley actually understood what he was reading. He found it impossible to ignore the soothing voice of the angel beside him, and so he took in almost every sentence. There were times where they stopped so he could comment on things and they laughed and shared ideas up until they were both so dreary-eyed that neither of them could read anymore. 

Aziraphale had never really enjoyed sleep before, but with Crowley he felt safe, and happy, and loved to join him, mainly for the sole reason that it meant he also got the gift of waking up to him. 

They continued reading that next evening, and Crowley remembered all of what happened in the last three chapters. They continued on every evening until they finished it. 

_“God knows; I am careless; this is my true hour of death, and what is to follow concerns another than myself.  Here then, as I lay down the pen and proceed to seal up my confession, I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end.”_

Aziraphale lay down the book to see Crowley looking at him with what he could only describe as adoration. The redhead leaned forward and kissed his love. It was short but full to the brim with sweetness. Aziraphale’s eyelashes fluttered.

“Thank you.” Crowley whispered, “You don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve actually read a book all the way through. It was wonderful. You’re wonderful…” He smiled as he looked into those blue eyes, “I really do love you.”

“And I you.” Aziraphale replied, chasing him for a second chaste kiss before replying, “We can start another one next week, but I think we should be off to bed now. Come on.”

Crowley let a yawn escape his mouth, and nodded slowly. “Hmm. Bedtime. Yeah.” 

They both settled in, Crowley’s head lay dozily on Aziraphale’s chest, Aziraphale’s hand was tangled loosely in Crowley’s hair, and they slowly drifted off to sleep like that, both dreaming of how many more evenings they’d be able to spend together like this. 

Luckily for them, there would be many.


End file.
